Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Canadian Reciever Dealers, decisions!

So,

I am planning on getting the following:

2 x M60
2 x QS8s
1 x VP150
1 x SVS-PB10

I am not entirely sure which reciever to go with, my room is 16 x 14 x 7'9". THe hardest thing is trying to get decent prices on recievers in Canada.

I think i will be skipping HDMI capabilities in the reciever this time around. I was going to opt for the RX-V1600 reciever, then i looked at the RX-V2500 which has more power.

Now i have been scoping pioneers, HKs...etc.

There are just SO many recievers out there. One stipulation I do have is that it needs to have component out, in which case i will use it to recieve the future xbox 360, digital cable etc...

I would LIKE to spend below $500CAD. But I am willing to go up to $800. The less i spend on the reciever to sooner i will be able to get the speakers!

I am totally out to lunch here guys, i thought I had it down with the RX-V2500...now I am not so sure.

Also, where are some good canadian dealers that deal with all brands of recievers at discounted prices including warranty? Anyone know?

Thanks,

-Robb "confused"

Future Shop has deals around New Years esp. on HKs but I know that doesn't help you now.

East Hamilton Radio usually has good pricing, check out their web site http://www.easthamiltonradio.on.ca/

I would think that in the $500-$800CDN range you would have a good selection to choose from. Your room isn't overly large and the M60s are an efficient speaker. Except for the sub I'm driving a duplicate system with a HK pushing out 55watts per channel.

I used to use my RX-V2400 as a video switcher for a couple of my component video sources, and it worked great. It's a few years old, but it's still the anchor of my HT system and puts out strong clean power to my speakers. I can imagine that the 2500 is even nicer, and you'll be very happy and have plenty of power.

As mentioned Futureshop will have good sales certain times of the year.
You can usually pick up the entry level H/K 135/140 on sale for $399 I believe. Currently they have the 135 on for $499.
I used to run a H/K 110 with M60's and it was more than adequate. I did move up to Yamaha RX-V4600 though as East Hamilton Radio had a deal I couldn't pass up

Another popular receiver seems to be the Pioneer 1015 or new version 1016. I saw the 1015 usually drop down to $399 as well. Here's a link for the current price. Pioneer I hope that worked...

i have already sent Hutzal a PM on the topic, but figured i throw my vote out in public as well. I think HAY is on the right track with the suggestion to check out the Pioneer 1015 model, especially at $400 that's a steal. Preouts, upconversion, and reports say plenty of power. The Yammie is a great receiver, but this is a steal, IMO.

Saw this reciever on avsforum.com

the Panasonic XR55

People are raving about it in that forum.

I always thought that I needed 120 watts of power, i guess I don't? I am pretty ignorant when it comes to recievers and such.

What have you guys heard about the Panny XR55? Some say in there its the best deal under $1000.

-Robb.

-Robb.

Robb, I don't have any info about Canadian dealers, but one thing that I'll suggest is to pay little or no attention to a few watts difference in maximum power rating. If you liked the 1600, it has more power available than you'd likely ever use(most of the time at a comfortably loud level the speaker is using about 1 watt)and the slightly higher maximum on the 2500 or any other receiver wouldn't be of any significant benefit. So, put power numbers down near the bottom of the list of factors determining a purchase.

In Canada it seems like Denon pricing is generally more reasonable than HK, relative to US prices. HK products are just marked up way too much by the CDN distributor unless you wait for the Futureshop boxing day sales.

I waited for the boxing day sale for my HK 630, and my brother-in-law's 130, and...

Hutzal, IMO you should buy with the new Yamaha RX-V659, 100W X 7 and Burr-Brown DACs for all channels. I have the RX-V657 with 2 X M60, 2 X QS8, VP150 and an HSU STF-2 sub and believe me this receiver has enough power for your room.

Patrick

Hi Hutzal,

One of my Axiom colleague's nephews purchased the Pioneer VSX1015 from Future Shop for either $399 or $499. It has MOSFET output devices and drives the 4-ohm Axiom M80s without any trouble. A more recent model, the 1016, has HDMI switching but it lacks the MOSFET output section. Go for the 1015.

EDIT: You guys aren't going to believe this, just phoned Future Shop and they told me no stores in Canada have any VSX1015's left...back to square 1!!

I have been debating in my mind weather or not I want a receiver that does analog to HDMI conversion so I can just run 1 HDMI cord to the projector. I have priced it out and the cost a 40ft component cable is $125 (bluejeanscable.com). If i put that $125 toward a reciever that does analog to HDMI out, then i wouldn't have to buy that 40ft Component cable. The problem is that a decent receiver that does analog to HDMI conversion is alot more than $125 more than a reciever that doesn't.

A part of me just didn't want the hassle of switching the projector on video inputs, i loved the idea of having one input, HDMI, and all my video will go through the reciever and out through the HDMI.

Alas another good reason to save my money is that HDMI is still being revised for optimum performance and is a pretty new technology.

Thanks for the tips everyone! I will most likely go for that Pioneer, I wanted the Yamaha V1600 REALLY badly, I have been reading good things about Yamaha, I guess this time around I will save my money. I can get it on Ebay from the states including shipping ending around $850CAD...but no Canadian warranty, i don't think I want to take that gamble with such a large purchase.

This will be my first Audiophile system and my first projector purchase. I will most likely be blown away regardless of what receiver I use!

Thanks again everyone, you guys are a great help.

-Robb.

If you do go the component cable route, try monoprice.com. Here is a 50 foot component cable that should be comparable...

Monoprice.com 50 ft Premium Component

Or you can go with the 50 ft. non-premium for under $15!

Robb, either the 1600 or the 1015 should serve you well. As for connections, as Dave pointed out they're available for quite reasonable prices from sources such as MonoPrice or Total Signal .

I picked up my Denon AVR-3805 from Bay Bloor Radio in Toronto, ON, they gave me a great deal and took about $175 off the price

- D

Alright, I have tracked one down with ALOT of phone calls and negotiating. Brand new in box for $470CAD. Is this a good deal? Should I try to get them lower (not sure if they will go any lower than that).

-Robb.

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I'm not sure from the posts -- did you track down a Pioneer 1015 or a Denon 3805 ?

Pioneer 1015...sorry

-Hutz

I Was doing some research on the 1015TX, it does not offer bass management below a frequency of 80 for some reason.

I am opting to NOT go with it. I have been eyeing the AVR-340...I will probably take the plunge on that receiver.

Anyone think that the HK AVR-340 can't handle that 5.1 system?

-Robb

I don’t see any reason why the 340 wouldn’t be more than sufficient given your set-up and room size.

thanks for the reply.

Is it just me or does everyone go completly insane trying to choose which receiver to buy?

-Hutz

Wait until you try to buy a screen. The receiver will seem easy by comparison.

Bridgman,

I actually just finished drywalling my theatre room in the basement, and I chose the wall I want the screen to go on and drywalled it perfectly. I plan on a DIY paint screen using Behr Silverscreen paint mixed with some other white or something. The mix can be found on avsforum.com.

So thats nice and easy, and realistically, Spending $30 on paint for a 100" screen vs a $300 screen. Is it really worth 10x more? I will try the paint and see how it goes.

-Hutz.

PS: I am now looking at the RXV659 like an above poster said. I think I may admit myself into the crazy ward.

on a related note, anyone in Canada looking for a Pioneer 1015 would be wise to check Visions outlets. Don't know if these retails exist in Eastern Canada, but they are everywhere out West.

>>I plan on a DIY paint screen using Behr Silverscreen paint mixed with some other white or something. The mix can be found on avsforum.com.

The stuff you mix in really seems to make a difference -- I think it's White Opalescent Pearl and Silver Metallic or something like that. After reading about a million avsforum posts (literally) my conclusion is that it is probably worth spending $20 more to go with something like RS-MaxxMud (also on AVSForum) rather than basing on Silverscreen. It takes a couple more paints to make the mix and you have to go to Michaels *and* Home Depot but the RSMM does seem to be a bit closer to "optimal" for about the same painting effort. The metallic content in RSMM does seem to be a bit higher so if you are rolling a bit more care is probably needed, but for spraying the RSMM seems like a no-brainer.

Silverscreen seems to have fallen sharply out of favour in the last week or so, but then avsforum is a fickle place

Are you going to use the RS-MaxxxMud?

I saw the mixes concerning that as well (I too have gone through thousands of posts). Silverscreen seems SO EASY to apply compared to max mud. It has 3 components instead of 6. I will not be spraying as I am going to be painting on a wall (currently finished drywall with mudding done).

I am not quite sure which route I am going to take. I actually really want to do maxxxmud, i just don't want to screw it up!

-Robb.

I was actually thinking about doing Black Flame and buying the premixed paints from PB-maxx and MM's new side business :

http://xtreme-fusion-screens.com/

My reasoning was that the loft is totally uncontrolled and is quite bright during most of the day. I actually bought the Formica planning to use it as a substrate for painting, but now I have it mounted I am noticing that (a) I wouldn't really want the image to be much darker, and (b) most of my movie watching is after the sun goes down anyways.

Having said that, going to something like RS/MM is probably the right thing to do. I have a huge light splashback problem with the angled walls "above" the screen, so there is still a good chance that a darker screen would give me a better overall result. I have to admit I am surprised how good the image looks on untreated Formica, so the last few days have been spent worrying more about what form factor (2.35:1 or 16:9) to use rather than worrying about paint.

BTW, after much soul searching I have slipped back to a 1.85/16:9-ish aspect ratio for now. Per my own decision table (posted yesterday), I am DEFINITELY going to end up with an anamorphic lens but I am not sure I'm willing to put up with all the zooming and shifting required to make best use of a 2.35 screen before the lens appears in budget.

I need a chainsaw, a trailer, and a land survey more than I need an anamorphic lens/prism, unfortunately. Guess I will just match the aspect ratio of the "bars and all" projected image for now, whatever that happens to be.

EDIT -- "Tiddler" has posted some really good "advanced rolling instructions" on avsforum which, if followed, seem to be sufficient for a beginner to reliably apply RS/MM and get good results.

I checked yesterday and it does appear that a paint/poly/pearl mix like you were considering is still easier to apply because of the lower metallic content. I should also mention that the criticism of Silverscreen is only really saying "grey paint mixed with poly and pearl makes a great screen, it's just that Silverscreen is a bit too blue; you can get more neutral colours just as easily". RS/MM does seem to give a bit brighter image at the same "greyness" level due to the metallic content, however.

My room is completly light controlled. I still haven't decided what I will be doing (pb-Maxxx, Silverscreen with UPW and WOP I think), Alas I am putting up the last peice of drywall roofing today in the hallway. AFter that its just a couple more pieces left on the walls and I am done drywalling the whole basement (and done mudding the threatre room already).

Crappy thing is that I promised the wife I would finish the basement before buying any HT gear...HOW finished is the question at hand...

-Robb.

Robb - look at the Audioshop in Ottawa - I purchased a yamie 1500 on the web new very good price. If you like the 1600 you will never use all the power. I never get close to using the power I have on my system. I have a 350 sub with the same system you are ordering and am extremly happy.

This fits your budget, H/K 235 $499 @ Future Shop

Thanks for all the input guys. Soundsaround in Calgary is having their annual liquidation sale on all discontinued models. In the Flyer they have the RX-V2600 for $998!!!! I am TEMPTED VERY MUCH to grab that just because of all the power it has and the ability to upscale all analog signals to 720p and output all signals through an HDMI port.

So i only need to run one cable to the projector. They didn't have the RX-V1600 in the flyer. I guess there are crazy lineups and junk for this annual sale. I will be showing up at 7AM to get in line.

Just to let you guys know how good the deals are, they have a Denon AVR-4306 for $1444 which is a KILLER deal. Its hard to resist that.

But if they have the RX-V1600 i will opt for that which should be around $300 less than the 2600. I'll also see if they have any Discontinued Denons on sale (lower models such as the 3806 or the 2806 which i doubt they'll have).

Anyway, I'll let you guys know what I got over the weekend!

I am PUMPED for this sale, this is the first piece of the puzzel I am purchasing, then the projector, then the speakers. I can't wait.

-Hutz

Thanks for the H/K posting HAY from another Burlingtonian

Well guys, here is what i finally got. I went to the Soundsaround sale and they had no Denons that interested me (although they had the 2807 for $1000CAD which is killer).

I ended up buying the RX-V659 for $500CAD. Last time i checked the street prices in Calgary were around $650, so $150 bucks off on a sale was awsome for me. Also got the 5 year extended warranty for $60.

Now all I need are some speakers and a Projector...hmmmm.

-Hutz